Michigan State's Dion Sims to Miami in fourth round

Apr. 27, 2013

Michigan State tight end Dion Sims runs down field after catching a pass from quarterback Andrew Maxwell during Friday night's game Aug. 31, 2012 against Boise State at Spartan Stadium. Michigan State defeated Boise State, 17-13. / Mike Mulholland/AP

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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Tight end Dion Sims is the second Michigan State player off the board in this year’s NFL draft, going in the fourth round today to the Miami Dolphins.

Sims went with the No. 106 pick overall, after Le’Veon Bell went in the second round, No. 48 overall, to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sims, Bell and defensive end Will Gholston all left MSU a year early.

“He can get down the field and stretch the deep middle, which is rare for a kid his size,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said of the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Sims after he was picked.

Sims caught 36 passes for 475 yards and two touchdowns as a fourth-year junior last season, earning All-Big Ten second team honors. He missed a game and most of another with an ankle injury that limited his mobility for about half the season.

He also had a broken wrist that hampered his impact in the 2011 season, and durability may have been one of the questions about Sims that knocked him to the fourth round.

Contact Joe Rexrode: 313-222-2625 or jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.